Journal May 2026 Release_Full Edition - Flipbook - Page 10
9
“It’s Taken Care Of”: A Collaborative Effort by a Student and a Teacher to Keep
Trouble out of the Classroom
Virginia Maxfield, LCSW 1
The morning was cool and fresh, just after the winter break, as I climbed the steps
to the elementary school. I was loaded down with my milk crate bins of supplies,
looking forward to introducing a new lesson to my fourth-grade art students.
I was in my fifth year of teaching and felt like the luckiest person on earth. Why?
my friends would ask: you have no classroom of your own, you have to cart
around all your supplies from room to room, you teach over 400 students in three
schools – what’s so great about that? My response was always: The kids! The art!
This is a job where I get to bring those two together and witness the surprises
that come forth when kids are let loose with art materials. They’re hilariously
funny and quick with ideas, they’ll trust me with any crazy lessons – they jump
right in. We collaborate, invent, try things, fail, try something else, borrow ideas,
use silly voices, wear costumes– all the best of who these young people come
forth in an art classroom – it’s just so fun!
This particular morning, I met first with a fourth-grade class, where I was familiar
with most of the kids. I found a cart in the storage room and loaded up my
supplies for the new project. When it was time, I rolled into the room and said
hello to the teacher. Then I noticed one boy sitting next to the teacher’s desk and
facing the wall, away from the other students. The teacher came over to let me
know the new student’s name was Darnell, and he was “a troublemaker,” who
was rumored to have been involved in fights and destructive behavior, so he had
to be kept away from the other students.
I flinched at the label. While I really loved working with my students as they
created art, I often felt dismayed by the regular use of labels for children, and I
1
Virginia Maxfield, LCSW can be reached at maxfieldtherapy@gmail.com or through her work website at
www.narrativeinstitute.com
“It’s Taken Care Of”: A Collaborative Effort by a Student and a Teacher to Keep Trouble out of the Classroom
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, May 2026 Release, p. 9-24.
www.journalnft.com
